Play! By Sephora, December 2016

Play! By Sephora, December 2016

Sorry for the late post as I was away when this package came and I have been extremely busy catching up my work after the holidays. So the December Play! Box theme was The Partygoer. The box includes 5 deluxe sized products, 1 bonus fragrance sample and the 50 extra beauty insider points card.

ig Although these are nice products, I wasn’t impressed with the selection because I feel like I have received some of these in my box before. The followings will be the close-up photos of the products.

DryBar Detox Dry Shampoo – which is my favorite out of the 5; it really keeps my hair cleaned and adds tons of volume. I had a full size and I brought it with me to my Spain trip last month. It does give a white cast when first sprays on; what I do is to spray and wait for a good 2min, then rub it into my roots and brush them out (the white cast will disappear).

dry-bar

My second favorite in this box is the Urband Decay All Nighter Makeup Setting Spray – Again, I have a full size at home and I use it every time I wear face makeup. It’s weightless and keeps my makeup looking fresh and stay in place for the day.

ud

Then we have my old favorite mascara – Lancome Hypnose Drama Instant Full Body Volume Mascara. I used to only use this then got sidetrack with all other new products in the market. It does give tons of volume to my lashes with two coats and stay looking nice all day.

lancomeAnd we have the Makeup Forever Step 1 Skin Equalizer Smoothing Primer; I tried this primer before and think it was just ok, didn’t do much to my makeup in my opinon. I decided to buy the Yellow base primer instead since that one cancels out my mild redness on my cheek.

muff

Then we have the famous Cream Lip Stain in Always Red by Sephora Collection; I just wish this was a full sized being it’s Christmas and it’s their own brand.

sephora

Lastly, we have the fragrance sample that I never really cared for much; I usually save them and give them all to a friend of mine. Here, we have Elizabeth and James’ Nirvana Rose.

ej

 

Thank you everyone for stopping by my blog! Hope you all had amazing holiday fun with friends and family! I look forward for more excited things in 2017! Image result for #sandiethecorgi

Pharmaskincare® Skincare Products Review

I received this lovely package from Pharmaskincare about two months ago for review purposes. Pharmaskincare products are the unique result of modern biotechnology and dermatological research combined with centuries of scientific observation; they believe in making sure the ingredients are beneficial to beautiful skin, the blend of the ingredients works synergistically, and that the ingredient blend is balanced.

They sent me the Lightening Cleanser, A Peel Microepidermal Masque Stick, Anti-Age Serum Plus, and the Ph Parfait Vit a Retinol.

1st-post

My skin type: Normal to dry in the Winter, Normal to oily in the Summer. To clarify, I do patch test every new product before putting it on all over my face; however, it’s not guaranteed that a product works on my sensitive areas (pulse point, behind the ears, or neck), doesn’t cause reaction to my face.

Disclaimer: Skincare is very personal, it works for my skin doesn’t necessarily mean that it will work for your skin. Please do consult with your Dermatologist if you have skin issues. We should all know our own skin type and find out what we need before testing out the products.

 

Lightening Cleanser 7oz. for $47.00

This is how their website describes the product:

“Lightening Cleanser is the first step in the battle against hyper-pigmentation, patchy skin, and age spots. This active, cleansing formula is enhanced with Certified Organic Japanese Green Tea and Apple Fruit Extract. Both ingredients work to lighten dark spots while promoting healthy, youthful skin, and an even, toned complexion.”

img_8364

My thoughts:

This Cleanser has a very strong fragrance scent; if you’re allergic to fragrance, this might not be good for you. To me, scent usually doesn’t bother me as long as I don’t dislike the scents or it doesn’t irritate my skin. At the beginning, I only used this at night after removing my makeup since it’s a lightening cleanser, and used it without a cleansing device; then I started to have some breakouts after about a week. I thought it was because of other product that I was testing out, so I stopped using that product and continued with the Cleanser for another week; and of course, it broke me out even more. At that point, I stopped using all new products completely and went back with my trusted products; it took me almost two weeks before my skin was all cleared up. Then I decided to give it another try with my Foreo Mini, this time it did not break me out; hence, I continued using the cleanser with Foreo for another two weeks, and it never broke me out again. So it came to my conclusion that this Cleanser is way too gentle to remove leftover dirt and makeup on my face and that caused breakouts over time. As far as lightening goes, I haven’t noticed any difference, perhaps the cleanser doesn’t stay on my face long enough to do its magic. Now I do enjoy using this Cleanser, it foams up very nicely and extremely gentle on the skin. If you don’t have a cleansing device, I suggest you to only use this in the morning (when you have a bare face with minimum skincare products from the night before); please do make sure to put on enough sunscreen (I always use SPF40 and up) to protect your skin from the sun since lightening products can cause sensitivities from the sun. If you want to use this at night and you do wear makeup during the day, I highly recommend using this with a cleansing device.

*Photos below with bare face before and after using the Cleanser:

 

A Peel Microepidermal Masque Stick 1oz. for $55.00

This is how their website describes the product:

“The A Peel Microepidermal Masque Stick provides the benefits of a face mask without the mess. It is clean and quick, yet contains the most advanced bio-active skincare ingredients to beautify and regenerate skin affected by environmental stress. The Masque Stick helps nourish, restore, and diminish the appearance of existing lines and wrinkles caused by age, dryness, sun exposure, and environmental damage. It also works to smooth out acne scars and blemishes.”

img_8359

My thought:

I use this regularly, once a week for the past month. I don’t usually get pimples; but when I do, it would be around period time, where one or two would pop up on my chin. Besides the time that I broke out from the Cleanser, I would say that this mask does help minimizing the chance of getting pimples during period time. So far, I haven’t seen any pimple popping out, not even one during my last period. However, my skin doesn’t seem to like this mask if I use more than once a week; I tried twice a week and it dried out my skin badly, I had to do heavy moisturizing masks and a lot of facial oils to get my skin back to normal. After two months of using this mask, I find the base is getting really loose, perhaps I am too harsh when using it. Other than that, I would recommend this mask, it’s convenience to use and travel with, and it keeps my skin cleared.

*Photos below with bare face before and after using the Mask:

 

Anti-Age Serum Plus 0.33oz. for $70.00

This is how their website describes the product:

“Anti-Aging Serum is a highly effective and scientifically formulated serum that gently penetrates the top layer of skin to help repair tissue damage. Combining pure vitamins, hydrolyzed silk and yeast extract, this Serum works to promote collagen and elastin production. It helps tighten and smooth wrinkles, fine lines, and sagging skin to maintain youthful and vibrant skin.”

img_8524

My thoughts:

I started using this in the morning and at night; the serum provides hydrations to my skin and it absorbs quickly which I like. However, I noticed it made my foundation balls up every time after I used this serum. I did wait 5min to let the serum absorb completely, didn’t work; I tried different type of foundations, still the same. Hence, I ended up using this at night only and I did let this sit on my skin for at least 10min before the next step. Overall, I still do like this serum, just wish it doesn’t ball-up my foundation so that I can use this in the morning as well. Overall, it’s a good serum for hydration; although I finished the entire bottle, it doesn’t contain enough product for me to see major anti-aging result.

 

Ph Parfait Vit a Retinol 0.5oz. for $71.00

This is how their website describes the product:

“Ph Parfait Vit a Antioxidant Retinol System combines the powers of biological derivatives with soya plant and grape seed plant extracts to create an effective anti-aging system which is gentle enough for sensitive skin yet tough enough for skin damaged from the sun or premature aging. The balanced combination of natural and active products creates a powerful antioxidant formula which stimulates the production of collagen in facial skin to help with reversal of the thinning epidermis so skin will grow healthy, wrinkle-free and youthful in appearance. Ph Parfait Vit a Retinol will aid skin to be naturally moisturized while accelerating skin rejuvenation promoting even skin texture and clarity by reducing the appearance of blemishes and protecting skin from future breakouts. Fine lines and aging signs will be visibly reduced leaving skin looking and feeling younger.”

1st-post

My thoughts:

Since I have had bad reaction to retinol products before, I gave the Ph Parfait Vit a Retinol to a friend, she’s been using retinol products regularly. I did ask how she likes it and she said that it goes on to her skin smoothly, again, it doesn’t contain enough product in the bottle for her to see any result.

Thanks again to Pharmaskincare® for sending me these products! Image result for corgi smile

 

You may find more information from their website and Instagram:

https://pharmaskincare.com/

https://www.instagram.com/pharmaskincare/

Play! By Sephora, November 2016

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I know everyone’s been saying this but – where did the time go?! It flew by way too quickly and it’s already Christmas before we know it.

Anyway, so I received my November Play! Box right before we take off for the long weekend, which is perfect! I can see that I will be actually using some of the products in this box and they are good for short road trips.

This month’s box came with:

Cover FX Illuminating Primer, Caudalie Vinosource Moisturizing Sorbet, Laura Mericer Caviar Stick Eye Colour in Rose Gold, Sephora Collection Ultra Shine Lip Gel in Pin Up Pink, Maison Margiela ‘Replica’ By The Fireplace, and GlamGlow GravityMud Firming Treatment.

img_8316

My favorite in this box that I already know I would enjoy is the GlamGlow GravityMud; I already have a full size at home that I use once a week. It’s once of those peel off masks that you peel off after 20-30min; it has definitely toned my skin after just a few uses.

img_8311Another product that I already know I would like is the Laura Mercier Caviar Stick because I used them before and I enjoyed using them a lot; it’s nice to have a deluxe size to keep in my purse and Rose Gold is my favorite shade.lm

One of the product that I haven’t tried but I would want to try out is the Cover FX Illuminating Primer; although, the one that I really want is the green one, but this is a good one to test out the texture of their primers.

img_8313

The Caudalie Vinosource Moisturizing Sorbet was also on my list to try out; I have been looking for a moisturizing cream in a tube as part of my skincare routine because I try to avoid any skincare that’s in a jar. Will need to see if this sorbet provides enough hydration as it claims; I will report back on this shortly!

img_8312

Now, I don’t care for this Sephora Collection Ultra Shine Lip Gel too much; I have a full size. I used it once and never picked it up again. Perhaps I am not a lip gloss person to begin with; this particular formula seems a bit too greasy for me.  It does give you a ton of shine though; hence, if you are a big fan of shine lips then you might love this.

img_8314

Lastly, we have the sample size perfume which I don’t care for. Here is the close-up of the Replica By The Fireplace.

scent

Alright! That’s this month’s Play! Box. Hope you enjoy this post! Until next time, please take care and have a safe and awesome Thanksgiving weekend with your friends and family! Image result for corgi smile

Marc Jacobs Air Blush in 504

Marc Jacobs Air Blush in 504 Kink & Kisses

ig

I was sent this product by Influenster for review purposes; it’s very rare that I give 5-star rating but I can’t find anything to complain about this products.

I like how it’s infused with Japanese air powder and created using a process called soufflage; that makes it extremely lightweight and provides my skin a radiant silky finish. The duo gives convenience color mixing feature, you can customize whichever way you want and they blend effortlessly. I usually mix the light shades on the left for daytime look and the darker shades on the right for night time look; it lasted for a good 8hrs.

As per usual, I am a big fan their sleek and slim packaging; this palm-sized compact is modeled after a vintage cigarette case, though I wish it was after something else (I don’t want to “promote” anything related to cigarette).

 

The Air Blush Glow Duo in 504 Kink & Kisses is a beautiful pale petal/ peachy rose shades; I tried to take a better picture to show the differences from the left/right/mixed shades. below is the best I was able to get. A is the shades when I swatch from the left of the blush, B is from the right side, and C is when I mixed everything together; on my hand they didn’t show too much differences but showed differently on the face:

swatches

Overall I really do like this product and will recommend it. I might get more shades during the Sephora VIB sale coming up soon, along with brand new holiday 2016 collections!

Have an awesome weekend ahead lovelies! Thank you for stopping by! Image result for corgi smile